Eli Crane picked up the phone Tuesday to learn he was one of three Navy SEALs who had been listed to notify family in case of the death of Charlie Keating, a 31-year-old SEAL who was stationed in Iraq.

When Keating joined SEAL Team 3 in 2008, Crane had been one of the older teammates who showed him the ropes. They served together in Fallujah, Iraq, and became like brothers before Crane left the SEALs in 2014, he said.

Keating was killed Tuesday morning after Islamic State militants penetrated Kurdish defensive lines and launched an attack with small arms and car bombs.

Crane immediately called his wife, packed a bag and left Tucson for Coronado, Calif., the small city near San Diego that is home to the naval base familiar to Crane, Keating and family.

Although loved ones already had been informed, Crane wanted to be present for Keating’s father, stepmother, brother, fiancee and many others who met Tuesday night to mourn the loss of a man remembered as a standout athlete, a fun-loving adventurer, a soon-to-be-groom and fearless hero.

The Department of Defense confirmed Wednesday that Special Warfare Officer 1st Class Charles H. Keating IV, known as Charlie or Chuck, died Tuesday in Tall Usquf, Iraq, of combat injuries during an attack by Islamic State forces.

“Keating and elements of his team were responding to a local Peshmerga force’s request for support during when they were attacked,” Lt. Beth Teach of the Naval Special Warfare Group ONE in San Diego said in an email Wednesday.

Keating was part of a quick reaction force that moved in to assist U.S. military advisers who came under Islamic State attack in northern Iraq, a senior U.S. military adviser told the Associated Press.

The advisers were going to Teleskof, just north of Mosul, to assist Peshmerga forces when enemy fighters launched a large attack on the Peshmerga in the town with armored Humvees and bulldozers, Army Col. Steve Warren told the AP.

Keating was shot during a gunbattle that involved more than 100 Islamic State fighters, he said.

On Facebook and other social media, soldiers in Iraq posted tributes to Keating on Wednesday.

“Please tell everyone that Chuck saved a lot of lives today,” an anonymous poster wrote on a Facebook page dedicated to Navy SEALs. “The partner force fled and navy seals held the line. Chuck was leading the fight as always. He went unconscious with that big signature smile on his handsome face as always. Chuck was Full of Aloha, but was also a ferocious warrior who killed dozens of Da'esh today to save his brothers LLTB (long live the brotherhood).”

This was at least Keating’s fourth deployment, and he had received campaign medals for service in Iraq and Afghanistan.

According to military records, Keating enlisted in the Navy in February 2007 and graduated from Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL training in June 2008. After graduation, he was assigned to various West Coast-based SEAL teams and Navy Special Warfare training commands.

After graduating from demolition school, Keating was deployed twice in Operation Iraqi Freedom, and once to Afghanistan in Operation Enduring Freedom. He then served as the leading petty officer of the West Coast sniper/reconnaissance training cell.

After a stint as an instructor, Keating rejoined a SEAL team as a platoon leading petty officer in February 2015 and was deployed soon after.

Keating is the third American to die in combat in Iraq since the U.S. military deployed advisers and other personnel there in 2014 to support the war against ISIS.

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Navy SEAL Charlie Keating died in northern Iraq on Tuesday. He is seen at his Navy SEAL graduation in 2008 with his grandfather Charles Keating Jr. (left) and his father, Charles Keating III. Liz Keating

Monique Cruz, 30, went to middle and high school with Charlie Keating. She last saw him at their 10-year high school reunion. “I’m just really glad that my last memory with him was such a good one," she said. David Wallace/The Republic

At age 16, Charlie Keating appeared on “Outward Bound,” a 10-episode special on the Discovery Channel. He spent three weeks in a steamy Costa Rican jungle, eating only beans and rice and paddling a canoe up to 40 miles a day. The Republic

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The life of the party, a soon-to-be groom

Keating was a 2004 graduate of Arcadia High School near the Phoenix-Scottsdale border, where he was an acclaimed distance runner.

He attended Indiana University, where he was part of the university's 2004-05 track team that finished as a Big Ten runner-up in both the indoor and outdoor seasons, but he left to enlist in 2007.

Keating was an adventurous soul who spent time surfing, skydiving and boating; “the type of guy that couldn’t sit still through a movie,” Crane, 36, said.

“He was the guy that walks in and the room just lights up cause everybody loves Chuck. Worked hard, played harder. He lived life to the fullest.”

Eli Crane

He was the life of the party, happy to share a craft beer or a margarita any time, Crane said.

“He was the guy that walks in and the room just lights up cause everybody loves Chuck,” he said. “Worked hard, played harder. He lived life to the fullest.”

Keating was publicly engaged to Brooke Clark, and the couple were planning a ceremony when he returned from Iraq. The Navy listed Clark as his wife. The Republic was unable to immediately confirm their status.

Crane said he didn't meet her until the night after Keating died.

“My heart just goes out to her because she’s just so awesome. Even in the midst of the tragedy and loss yesterday, she was so sweet and accommodating to everybody," he said.

“Charlie and Brooke were engaged to be married in November. Brooke was supposed to buy her wedding dress this week,” he wrote.

“I can barely speak. I am devastated that my good friends have suffered this tragedy. Brooke, the Clark and Keating families, and our extended wine competition family have lost a beautiful person and a brave soldier.”

A standout athlete

Charlie Keating graduated from Arcadia High School in 2004, where he was a star athlete in track and cross country.(Photo: The Republic)

Keating was known across Arizona for his fearlessness, athleticism, humor and charm.

His sense of humor shined in the school's 2004 senior-year yearbook, where he wrote, “If anyone needs a job 20 years from now just ask me. I might not let you work for me.”

Toward the back of the yearbook, Keating’s family took out an entire senior page filled with photos of him as a child and as a runner. One photo shows him with a focused look as he rounds a turn on a track. Another photo shows him out of breath.

The family shared a T.S. Eliot quote, “Only those who risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go,” and then added, "We love you...Charlie!"

Once, in high school, he spent three weeks in a steamy Costa Rican jungle, eating only beans and rice and paddling a canoe up to 40 miles a day as part of the Discovery Kids Channel's "Outward Bound" TV show.

Keating was city and region champion in the 1,600-meter run as a sophomore, junior and senior at Arcadia. He earned all-city and first-team all-state honors as a high-school senior, according to Indiana University, where he went to college.

"When Charlie left IU to enlist and try to become a SEAL, I don't think it really surprised any of us," said Robert Chapman, professor of kinesiology at IU Bloomington, who was the men’s cross-country coach from 1998 to 2007.

"You could tell he was a guy who wanted to be the best and find out what he was made of, and serving as special operations forces for his country embodied that."

Crane said Keating’s athleticism helped him stand out once enlisting. He once won the mile at the indoor Indiana Open in 4 minutes, 16.41 seconds, and often ran miles close to 4 minutes, Crane said.

“When you can go into SEAL training and throw down those kind of times, it’s a real head-turner and people take notice of you really quick.

“He had so much respect that he typically got the best assignments because his leadership and commanders knew that they could trust him to do a good job and to represent the SEALs in a positive light.”

Known for and proud of his family

Keating's father, Charles H. Keating III, was a three-time All-American and competed in breaststroke at the 1976 Olympics in Montreal.

His cousin, Gary Hall Jr., is an Olympic swimming champion.

Keating’s grandfather, Charles H. Keating Jr., also served in the Navy. According to published accounts, Keating Jr. trained as a carrier-based fighter pilot during World War II and was stationed in the United States.

Keating Jr.'s real-estate developments, including the Phoenician Resort, are crown jewels of the Valley, and his well-publicized charitable works included befriending and offering financial help to Mother Teresa.

His grandfather also will be remembered as a man whose financial empire cost many investors their life savings when it crumbled. His name also became part of the moniker for a group of senators who intervened on his behalf with regulators during the 1980s savings-and-loan scandal.

As a high-school senior, Charlie Keating said he was proud of his grandfather and enjoyed having the same name, even when other children made fun of him.

"I'm really close to him," the young Keating said at the time. "What happened in the past, I really don't care."

Keating Jr. died at age 90 in 2014.

Everyone in the platoon was aware of Keating’s grandfather but “he was always quick to defend his family. He loved his family like nobody else,” Crane said, often inviting them to the base for tours or taking leave to visit his brother.

'Never forget guys like Chuck and the sacrifices he’s made'

The military said Keating was survived by Clark, whom they called his wife; his mother, Krista; his father, Charles; sisters Adele and Cassie; and his brother, Billy, who is also in the Navy.

The family was planning to fly to Delaware within a couple of days to retrieve Keating’s body and bring it to San Diego for services early next week, although nothing has been confirmed, Crane said.

Keating’s immediate family members have not spoken publicly. Anyone looking to support them should simply honor Keating, Crane said.

"I think people can just make sure they never forget guys like Chuck and the sacrifices he’s made and continue to support and respect everybody that’s active duty and veterans alike."